Ellen and Walter Newman were an inseparable couple, traveling the world, attending spring training with the Giants and owning 49ers season tickets.

Photo: Thomas J. Gibbons, Special To The Chronicle

Ellen and Walter Newman were an inseparable couple, traveling the...

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Ellen and Walter Newman were among the more than 1,500 guests who gathered at the Red Tie Gala at Neiman Marcus in San Francisco's Union Square on Friday, November 19th. This biennial event raises funds for Little Sisters of the Poor, St. Anne's Home onLake Street. At the Gala, five floors of Neiman Marcus were magically transformed to reflect the style and culture of six continents from around the world, where the Little Sisters have a presence.

Walter S. Newman, who devoted a lifetime to championing a variety of civic and cultural causes in San Francisco and played a vital, yet unsung role in such developments as the Transamerica Pyramid and Mission Bay, died Saturday night. He was 91.

Mr. Newman, a third-generation Californian who in 2009 received France's highest civilian honor for his role as a U.S. Army captain in the Allied invasion of Normandy, collapsed at his home while watching a high school football game on TV.

"He was a remarkable man who never made an enemy," his wife of 62 years, Ellen Magnin Newman, said Sunday. "And he was known for his smile."

Friends and family remembered him for the unwaveringly positive attitude he brought to a wide variety of projects, whether it was pushing for a new resource center for veterans, working behind the scenes with business leaders over major real estate developments, or bringing Bay Area residents their first view of King Tut artifacts three decades ago.

Never a bad word

And all the while, "he would never say anything bad about anyone," said Merla Zellerbach, who knew Mr. Newman for about 50 years.

"His accomplishments are legion," said Zellerbach, former Nob Hill Gazette editor and Chronicle columnist. "Mission Bay would never have happened without him. He was instrumental in getting University High School built. He was the one who got the Veterans Center at City College. He was a jewel of a man, he's a prince,"

When his son Robert died of a malignant brain tumor, Mr. Newman co-founded and became president of the National Brain Tumor Foundation to help others with the disease.

"When he saw a need, he didn't just fill it, he made things happen," Ellen Newman said. "He never sought any accolades for it. He just liked to do it."

Mr. Newman was an Army infantry captain who was awarded a Purple Heart after he survived being shot in the chest on Aug. 1, 1944, while leading his troops into Normandy. On the 65th anniversary of D-Day, he returned to France to accept the Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honor, that country's highest civilian honor.

"It was wonderful how he would interact with these kids," Myatt said. "One of them asked, 'Mr. Newman did you have to kill someone?' 'Yes, I did,' he said. The kid asked why. 'They were trying to kill my soldiers.' "

"He never wasted a minute," Myatt said. "He was always trying to do some good."

He also headed organizations like Temple Emanu-el and was a member of the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation board. He was credited with bringing the King Tut exhibit to the city while president of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

"That was a defining moment for the importance of the Fine Arts Museums because we look back and refer to that as our first great exhibition," said Dede Wilsey, current president of museum's board of trustees.

Mayor Ed Lee said Mr. Newman "gave our city the benefit of his experience and leadership. I extend my condolences to Mr. Newman's entire family who, together, represent our city values of service and philanthropy."

Ellen Newman said she was first introduced to Mr. Newman by a friend who described him "as the best dancer in San Francisco."

"She wrote my number on a cocktail napkin," said Ellen Newman, who headed the fashion end of her father's business, the Joseph Magnin department store. Walter Newman joined the family firm and became a senior vice president.

Devoted couple

The couple became inseparable, traveling the world from Africa to Nepal. They also attended spring training every year with their favorite San Francisco Giants and also had San Francisco 49ers season tickets.

"He and Ellen were at everything, all the ballgames, everything that was an event," said Nancy Bechtle, a civic activist and supporter of culture and medical causes. "He always had the best attitude about everything. He was so enthusiastic. He was always supportive of everybody, of every event. And he and Ellen, to me, had probably the greatest marriage of anybody I know."

"Wherever we went, he would love to regale the locals and our tour guides with local songs, like 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco,' " Mardikian said. "He'd start in, do all the hand motions, and pretty soon everyone was laughing and singing. They got into it because he was singing with such passion. It was like he was a cheerleader, sharing something from San Francisco with everyone else."

Mr. Newman is survived by his wife, sons Walter Newman Jr. and John Donald Newman, and brother-in-law Jerry Magnin of Beverly Hills.